July 15: 2 Kings 16-17, 2 Chronicles 28

July 15, 2 Kings 16-17, 2 Chronicles 28

2 Kings 16 Ahaz, Jotham’s son, becomes King at age 20. “And he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God, as his father David had done,  but he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. He even burned his son as an offering.” He sacrificed his son to a false god, which was not uncommon in those days. He did not trust in God, but in man, which is why he called the Assyrians to help him (and not God). He was deeply into idols. They removed the altar of the Lord and replaced it with an alter for false gods. This is why the prophets we keep reading about were so sternly warning the Israelites to stop living this way. 

2 Kings 17 The fall of Israel… Hoshea is now the King of Judah and  “And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, yet not as the kings of Israel who were before him.” He was really the last ruler of Israel and was a lover of evil. The Assyrians captured Samaria and sent the Israelites away to Assyria. “And this occurred because the people of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God…” In spite of the countless warnings and grace from God, they still loved sin and idols - not God. They did not listen to the warnings, but followed sin. They were a stubborn people. Judah was not much better and didn't keep the commandments either. “So Israel was exiled from their own land to Assyria until this day…”

We learn that the Assyrians took over the land of Israel and lived there. They basically pretended to follow and fear God, but their actions showed otherwise. 

2 Chronicles 28 is a recap of 2 Kings 16, with Ahaz. The Chronicler emphasizes how Ahaz was a leading cause for the sins of Judah. They loved their idols and Baals, making offerings to them. God have Judah into the hands of the Syrians and many died or were taken that day, because they had forsaken the Lord. 

Now the Israelites are battling Judah and taking many of them as captives (before the exile). A prophet called them out for going against their own people, so they sent them home. 

“For the Lord humbled Judah because of Ahaz king of Israel, for he had made Judah act sinfully and had been very unfaithful to the Lord.” As he was more stressed out now, Ahaz became even more faithless and he was part of the ruin of Israel… He wasn't buried with the other kings.

To sum it all up:

• My apologies for the brevity of todays study. Summing it up though - it comes down to a simple question:
• Do you love God more than anything? If not, those are your idols and you must eradicate them.